When the bell chime signalling the end of the literary test rang, all of the test papers appeared in the examiner hall. Each set of test papers was automatically bound into a booklet, its cover bearing the candidate’s name and number.

The six examiners were seated at the head of the hall. They were responsible solely for grading the essay section. As the first two parts of the literary test had fixed answers, there was no need for them to take part in the grading. A few low-level disciples could sweep through the test papers with mystic treasures and generate the scores instantly.

All six examiners possessed immense cultivation, and multitasking was just a basic skill to them. Thus, they were all simultaneously reviewing multiple sets of test papers. The less capable ones were reviewing seven or eight sets of test papers at the same time, whereas the more capable ones were reviewing more than ten sets. The Buddhist monk in particular was going through twenty sets at the same time, and it took him less than a teatime to wrap up and move onto the batch.

In the examiners’ opinions, reviewing the paper wasn’t a difficult task. The candidates were just children after all. If their answers adhered to historical facts and were reasonably written, then their performance could already be regarded as satisfactory. Originality was rare, and those who could present a coherent argument were few and far between.

The aristocratic children consistently outperformed the others by a significant margin in the literary test. It made sense. They had received instructions from renowned teachers and begun their studies at an early age. Moreover, the literary test had been conducted for centuries, so most aristocratic families possessed a clear understanding of its scope. In fact, numerous teachers had gained fame specifically through researching the questions that would appear in the literary tests, and once they became famous, the aristocratic families naturally recruited them into their ranks.

All six examiners worked at a brisk pace. It wouldn’t even take them two hours to finish grading everything.

Suddenly, the old Confucianist slammed his palm against the table and roared, “What absolute nonsense!”

The other examiners were confused. They were just grading a test. What could possibly anger the man so?

When they turned to look, they saw that the old Confucianist was reviewing Wei Yuan’s test paper. Thus, they summoned it with the wave of a hand and went through it themselves.

The younger cultivator tapped his armrest while reading the test paper. He said, “His answer for On Recruiting Talented Individuals is pretty novel. One should put virtue over competence during peacetimes, and competence over virtue during wartimes, hmm? Interesting.”

Liu Sigu glanced at his fellow examiners once before saying gravely, “The ancient sages have long taught us that virtue alone should guide the selection of officials. This boy is not of Confucian lineage, so I do not expect him to adhere to our teachings. Had he steadfastly adhered to appointing the capable, then this old man would have accepted it and even regarded him with respect. But to flip-flop between virtue and competence? The teachings of the sages are timeless and immutable—how can one adhere to them when it suits them, and discard them when it does not? If not severely punished, such fence-sitting behavior would surely earn the disrespect of the masses!”

His colleague, the middle-aged Confucianist, echoed in agreement, “Elder Liu’s criticism may be a little harsh, but he’s not wrong. The rules and regulations encourage originality, but that doesn’t mean they condone heresy or twisted doctrines. That said, this boy shares ties with the Palace of Absolute Beginning, so care to share your thoughts with us, Brother Fu Feng?”

The Daoist’s frown grew deeper and deeper as he stared at the two Confucianists.

The old Confucianist suddenly let out a cold chuckle. “The Palace of Absolute Beginning seemed to be involved in quite a lot of matters this year. I humbly ask for your forgiveness if my eyesight suddenly fails me, and I write with undue severity, Brother Fu Feng.”

The old Confucianist’s meaning couldn’t be any clearer. Five aristocratic families were fighting for the three spots offered by the Palace of Absolute Beginning this time. As an examiner, Daoist Fu Feng was naturally standing at the heart of the struggle. Who needed a little helpful nudge, who needed to be taken down a peg or two, who needed perfect balance and more—to say that he was feeling utterly overwhelmed by the sheer finesse that was demanded of him would be an understatement. If Liu Sigu went through with his threat and graded his papers recklessly and without thought, if the vital interests of that family were damaged, then he was the one who would bear the full brunt of the blame, not the Confucianist.

That was why the Daoist kept a blank face no matter how infuriated he felt and said, “All I ask is impartiality.”

The old Confucianist nodded in satisfaction and put down Wei Yuan’s grade and score: Earth-C, 8.

The highest score one could receive for the essay questions was 20. With this score, he outright struck the boy out of the level of blessed land.

The rest of the examiners said nothing and kept grading their papers. When everyone was done, a line of text appeared on the stone tablet:

Wei Yan, Earth-A, 19.

The final score was obtained after the individual scores from the first two portions of the test paper were added. Wei Yuan had obtained perfect scores for these portions, and that was something no one could change. Wei Yuan’s overall score for the essay portion was 9 out of 20, thus his final overall score was 19.

It was late at night, and all was quiet. However, a light still shone in a side hall.

Sun Yu was sitting at his desk and glancing at the clock from time to time. His expression kept shifting between anxiety and impatience.

Suddenly, the door to the side hall swung open. Then, Zhang Sheng stepped into the room.

Sun Yu was shocked to see him. “Why are you outside? Your secluded cultivation is supposed to end tomorrow!”

Indeed, the scholar was looking rather pale right now. He replied, “I couldn’t shake off a sense of discomfort while practicing, so I decided to pay a small price and make an early exit. The aptitude test and literary test are done, right? How did Yuan’er score?”

“I’m waiting for the results myself. It should be out now.” Sun Yu summoned a young Daoist servant to his side and ordered, “Bring me the results of the aptitude test and the literary test.”

Startled, the young Daoist servant hurriedly said, “This doesn’t seem proper.”

Sun Yu’s expression grew stern, and his voice turned cold. “You’re making excuses over such a small matter? Are you looking down on my Xuanming Hall? If you refuse to go, then I’ll retrieve it myself. After that, I’ll give you nothing but failing grades for this unified exam. You can look forward to another thirty years of menial labor then!”

The young Daoist servant was horrified to say the least. He stopped arguing and hurried away to carry out his orders.

While waiting, Sun Yu handed the literary test questions to Zhang Sheng. The scholar took one look and relaxed slightly, saying, “The question format is unusual, but it’s not all that difficult. With Yuan’er’s skill, he should score 29 points at the minimum. Anything lower is unthinkable.”

Moments later, the Daoist servant returned and handed a piece of jade paper to Sun Yu. He said, “These are the results of the aptitude test and the literary test. I secretly copied them, so please don’t tell anyone about this, Brother Sun. I’ll be expelled from the Palace if you do!”

Sun Yu dismissed him with the wave of a hand. Then, he handed the paper to Zhang Sheng.

He saw the scholar’s brow furrowing immediately after he checked out its contents. He knew there was trouble then and stepped over to take a look himself.

Currently, the top scorer of the exam was Lee Zhi. He got 38 in the aptitude test and 30 in the literary test, so his total score was 68. Next was Bao Yun. She got 40 in the aptitude test and 27 in the literary test, so her total score was 67.

Zhang Sheng went through the name one by one, but could not find Wei Yuan anywhere even after reaching the end of the first page. Sun Yu was quite astonished himself. The first page alone had thirty names on it, which meant that the boy hadn’t even entered the top thirty. At this point, it was impossible for him to enter the Palace of Absolute Beginning.

Zhang Sheng’s face was ashen as he kept reading. It wasn’t until he reached the third page that he finally found the name he was seeking. Wei Yuan’s aptitude test and literary test scores totalled up to a score of 49. He was ranked 95th out of all the candidates.

Sun Yu was frowning as well. Forget joining an immortal sect, this score was far away from the benchmark to enter a grotto-heaven as well. At this point, it no longer mattered whether the boy took part in the martial test or not.

Strangely, Zhang Sheng calmed down after being hit by the terrible news. He checked every line of the score breakdown carefully before closing his eyes, thinking. It wasn’t until a while later that he finally opened his eyes and said in an unnaturally calm voice, “I can teach him for six months only, and he still would’ve scored higher than 19 for his literary test. Earth-A for his foundation and fortune? Heh. Hehe. Earth-A... good! Very good! You may not be aware of this, Senior Brother, but Yuan’er’s foundation and fortune are only slightly behind mine.”

He slowly put the test results on the table and said icily, “If my aptitude is only good enough to get an Earth-A rating, is there anyone in the world who would dare to claim that their aptitude is Heaven?”

Sun Yu didn’t know what to say. Sighing, he said, “Calm down, Junior Brother. Maybe, maybe we can...”

“If they’re willing to go to such lengths, then there is no need for me to spare them any dignity!”

Zhang Sheng rose to his feet and started walking toward the exit. Sun Yu wanted to stop him, but he simply lacked the ability to do so. He could only cry behind his back, “What are you going to do, Junior Brother?”

The scholar’s voice echoed through the night.

“I’m going to flip the table!”